An unusual situation: two world team championships starting on the same day in different corners of the world. The best women's teams are in China, and the best men's in Armenia. What distinguished the opening ceremonies of these two events? Which was shorter, which was prettier? Judge for yourselves, with the aid of photos we have taken from the official sites: chengdu2015.fide.com (author - Anastasia Karlovich) and tsaghkadzor2015.fide.com (author unknown).

The European Championship taking place in Jerusalem saw its first free day yesterday, on February 28th. Many participants have spent it sightseeing; the program consisted of a journey to the Dead Sea and a tour to Masada, a famous ancient fortress.